This invention relates generally to a pill-dividing apparatus; more specifically it relates to an apparatus for accurately dividing a pill into two halves, with one half being immediately accessible and the second half being captured for later use.
It is common in the medical field to split a tablet or pill so that fractional dosages of medication, vitamins, etc., may be conveniently taken by or administered to a person. Doctors frequently prescribe medication for an adult or child patient in fractional dosages, such as one-quarter pill, one-half pill, etc. But because medication in pill form is normally available in what will be called "unit" dosages, a nurse or a patient is required to divide the pill into equal portions in order to dispense a fractional dose--while retaining the remaining portion for subsequent use. Finding a convenient place to store the unused portion of a pill is often a nuisance, and handling the small, divided halves, quarters, etc., can be awkward for persons with non-dextrous hands. Another problem in preparing a fractional dosage is preserving the pill's cohesion while it is being divided, so that at least the portion that is to be retained will maintain its original state. If a pill disintegrates into small granules while being divided, it would be difficult for a person to segregate the crumbled pill into equal portions. Hence, there has existed a need for a pill-dividing device which may be easily used to prepare and dispense a fractional dosage of pill-type medication--and which securely captures and stores the remaining portion of the medication for later use.
Of course, there have been several prior art devices which have been proposed for breaking or dividing a pill, so that a fractional dosage may be provided for a patient. Examples of such devices are shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,173,826 to Leopoldi et al. entitled "Apparatus for Cutting Pills"; and 4,199,863 to Deckert entitled "Pill Cutter". These devices may be able to divide a pill into two pieces, but they are not adapted to capture and store the remaining unused piece of the pill. Furthermore, if the pill disintegrates into minute granules after it is split, there is no convenient way of isolating one-half of the pill from the other half so as to keep the granules from mixing.
There is a device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,192 to Urban et al. entitled "Tablet Breaking Device" which addresses the need to store broken pill portions. However, after a pill is broken using this device, the jagged top of the broken pill portion--which is firmly wedged in the tapered groove--will actually project upwardly so as to prevent the lid from being fully closed over the open container. Thus, the "unheld" portion of the pill is not really captured, and it could fall out of the container if the Urban device was turned sideways or upside down. Also, because of the geometry of the tapered groove, an unusually thick pill having a small diameter could not conveniently be broken into equal halves, quarters, etc.
Another prior art device teaches the use of a box-like structure having a lid for capturing and storing one-half of a pill. This device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,806 to Lieptz entitled "Pill-Splitting Implement with Non-Crumbling Characteristic." Inside the box-like structure are a pair of flexible holding arms that are supposed to apply inwardly directed forces to the pill and hold it together after it has been divided. However, such holding arms would not be effective to preserve the cohesion of a brittle pill and prevent it from disintegrating into minute fragments or granules when the pill is split. So, the pill granules could pass around the holding arms and easily mix at the bottom of the pill box, making it difficult for a person to accurately segregate one-half of a broken pill. Also the Lieptz construction requires that a person manipulate the pill--with a thumb and finger--so as to position the pill between the holding arms. If the pill does not disintegrate after being split, the small pill pieces must be handled again, so that one portion may be dispensed and the other portion may be placed in some storage container. And, if a quarter-pill dosage is required, a non-dextrous person would have a hard time grasping and removing one-half of a pill from a small storage container and orienting it between the holding arms. Unfortunately, to use this device a person must repeatedly handle the small, divided pill pieces, thereby increasing the chances of dropping them or possibly contaminating them if the person's hands are unclean. And in an environment where cleanliness is critical (i.e., a hospital, emergency clinic, etc.), minimizing the handling of pills is very important--especially if the handler might unknowingly be infected with a contagious disease. That is, a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other health industry worker who might be infected with a contagious disease would certainly not want to repeatedly touch medication that was going to be administered to patients under his or her care.
One other prior art device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,936 to Swarth entitled "Compressed Tablet-Splitting Holder" purports to have structure adapted to preserve the cohesion of a pill's granulation after it is split, but this device lacks any cutting means for easily dividing the pill. To use the Swarth device, a thumb and forefinger of one hand are brought together so as to exert a steady clamping force on the holder jaws to firmly envelop a portion of the pill. Then, the exposed portion of the pill, which will presumably be about one-half, may be broken way by applying a transverse force with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. Unfortunately, persons with decreased hand strength or those suffering from diseases such as arthritis, or certain amputees, would encounter considerable difficulty using the Swarth device. Also, even when a Swarth device is successfully used to break a pill in half, there is no compartment-like structure adapted for capturing any unused portion of the pill--or for reliably capturing very small pieces if the pill crumbles.
While most of the above-described devices have been constructed for breaking or splitting pill-type medication, it seems that the designers of these prior art devices have not given sufficient attention to the need for a device which is easy to use and which is adapted to conveniently store what may be aptly called the broken but unused portion of a pill. Therefore, there has remained a need for a pill-dividing apparatus which may be readily used by persons having impaired strength in their hands as well as persons who may have a need to break dozens of pills at one time (e.g., nurses in a multi-patient facility). It is an object of this invention to provide such a pill-dividing apparatus.
Another object is to provide a pill-dividing apparatus which is adapted to conveniently isolate and store the unused pill portions for later consumption.
A further object is to provide a pill-dividing apparatus which has a means for readily centering a pill so that a person does not have to both grasp and position the pill in order to reliably divide it into equal parts.
One more object is to provide a pill-dividing apparatus having a means for conveniently dispensing one-half of a pill so as to minimize handling of the medication.
Still another object is to provide a pill-dividing apparatus which has a blade for dividing a pill, with the apparatus adapted so that the blade may be manually replaced with a new one at any time.
These and other objects will no doubt be apparent from a reading of the specification and claims, and from a study of the accompanying drawing illustrating certain facets of the invention.